Graphene-based structures (such as graphene quantum dots, graphene nanoribbons, graphene nanonetworks, graphene plasmonics, and graphene super-lattices) exhibit chemical, mechanical, electronic, and optical properties that have applications and benefits in various electronic devices, composite materials, and implementations for energy generation and storage. Some graphene-based structures comprise one or more graphene films or one or more graphene layers that are in electrical communication with one another and/or with an external circuit.
Conventional methods to produce such graphene-based structures with one or more graphene layers include forming a continuous graphene film and then patterning (e.g., etching) the continuous graphene film to form isolated graphene layers or films. A disadvantage associated with this approach is that graphene is difficult to process chemically or mechanically—for example, it is difficult to control the etch-rate and etch-selectivity of graphene in relation to other materials used for device fabrication and processing.
Additionally, some methods of segmented graphene growth include oxidation of graphene from specific regions of the continuous graphene sheet to leave isolated graphene substantially in the unoxidized regions. A disadvantage of this oxidative approach to segmented graphene growth includes a loss of active graphene area due to sub-optimal spatial control of the oxidation reaction, thereby compromising the packing density of the segmented graphene layers.
Accordingly, there is a need for fabrication methods and graphene-based structures fabricated using these methods for reliably forming multiple segmented (e.g., isolated or disjoint) graphene layers.